Elven Evening Song from The Wolf Pack by V.M.Sang

On the way back from finding Sauvern's Sword, the companions travelled through the Elven homeland of Rindisillaran where they heard this song the elves sing every evening.

 Elven Evening Song

‘Ah equillin ssishinisi
Qua vinillaquishio quibbrous
Ahoni na shar handollesno
As nas brollenores.

Ah equilin bellamana
Qua ssishinisi llanarones
As wma ronalliores
Shi nos Grillon prones.


Ah equilin dama Grillon
Pro llamella shilonores
As nos rellemorres
Drapo weyishores.

Yam shi Grillon yssilores
Grazlin everr nos pronores
Wama vinsho prolle-emo
Lli sha rallemorres.’



 Translation


“Oh star of the evening
Shining brightly
You give us hope
In the deepening night.

Oh beauteous star
Who heralds the evening
You tell us all
That Grillon guards us

Oh Grillon’s star
As you sink westwards
Return again
To guard the dawn.

Ensure that Grillon
Through darkness keep us
Safe from all evil
Until the morn.”’

20 commonly mis-spelled words

Here are some commonly misspelled words in English.

 Acceptable, not Acceptible
 Accessible, not Accessable
 Achieved, not Acheived
 Acquire, not aquire
 Analysis, not Analasis
 Business, not Busness
 Ceiling, not Cieling
 Consistent, not Consistant
 Definite, not Definate
 Discipline, not Disipline
 Exhilarate, not Exilarate
 Exceed, not Exeed
 Forfeit, not Forfit (or Forfiet)
 February, not Febuary
 Height, not hight (or hieght)
 Heirarchy, not Hierarchy (or Hirarchy)
 Independent, not Independant
 Inoculate, not Innoculate
 Leisure, not Liesure
 Liaise, not Liase

English is a very odd language as far as spelling is concerned/ This is because it has words and roots from many other languages. There are still a few Celtic words, although not very many. Then the Romans came bringing Latin.

Latin was the language of scholars and it is only within living memory that it was a requirement to gain entry to Oxford and Cambridge Universities in England. The Roman Catholic Church used Latin in its services until comparatively recently, and many mottos are still in Latin.

After the Romans left these isles, we were invaded by Scandinavian. These brought their own languages with them. Today, in Scotland in particular, there are many words similar, if not the same, as those in the Scandinavian languages. Dialect words often very old and date back to those languages.

There were also the Saxons. they brought Germanic languages to this country and we have many words that are very similar to the German equivalent. An example is Mutter, meaning Mother, and Haus, meaning House.

After the Saxons came the Normans. They were, incidentally the last people to successfully invade these isles. This was in 1066. They brought French. The Normans became the ruling classes and spoke French. The workers spoke Anglo-Saxon. This explains why we have differences in the names of food we eat and the animals it comes from.

The French for a bull is Boeuf from which comes Beef. But in the field it is called a Bull, cow or in the plural, cattle.

The French for a sheep is Mouton, from which comes Mutton, but in the field it's still the old word, sheep.

The French for a calf is Veau from whence we get Veal.
You get the picture.

Then Dutch engineers were brought in to drain what is now the Fens in East Anglia and they brought words with them. The British Empire was a source of words too, especially India.

So our language is something of a hotch-potch, hence the different spellings and pronunciation.

I will add to these words in a future blog. I hope you find this useful.

Do you like snakes?

I'm sorry for the delay in today'w post. I seem to be very busy these days. 

I saw a post on the blog of https://themelesswriting.com/ about her dislike, no fear, of snakes. I enjoyed it a lot and so I replied to her. Please visit her blog and read the article, and this is my reply to her.
Dear Themelesswriting. (I'm using the title of your blog because I don't know your name.)

I am a snake. There are a few things you should know about us before you want to destroy us completely. I am writing here to try to rectify some of your misconstrued ideas.

First of all, not all of us are poisonous, and of those of us that are, many won't actually kill you. The venom isn't strong enough to kill a creature your size.

We destroy many of the vermin that pester you. I mean rats and mice. (yum) Did you know that a single rat could have as many as 1 million descendants in only 18 months without some form of predation. We can get into those little corners where your pest controllers can't.

Rats and mice like the same things to eat as you, so they can devastate agriculture without some control. We can help greatly with that. So you won't go hungry as long as we're around.

We shed our skins, as you know, when they get a bit tight. These skins contain nutrients that are returned to the earth as they decay. As well as that, our shed skins help to protect other animals. the ground squirrel eats them, then licks its fur so it smells of rattlesnake. Predators then steer clear, thinking one of us is around. thus the little squirrel. whom I'm sure you like, lives a bit longer.
Birds too, sometimes hang the shed skins on their nests, thus keeping predators away, who think snakes are there. (not very bright, some of these predators.)

We are part of the ecology of the world. There are many food chains that get tangled into food webs. In those webs, we appear on different levels. Sometimes we are the ones who are eating others, but equally, we are often the eaten. (Not something I like to consider too much.) These food webs are what keeps life on this little planet of ours. Disrupt them at your peril. Oh, you're doing that quite successfully already, I forgot.

So we're food for many other things. Sometimes snakes will eat other snakes. (Horrid thought.) We're also eaten by mongooses (nasty little beasts) birds of prey (there's one actually called the snake eating eagle) all the different species of cat, coyotes, wild boar and even some frogs. Without us you might see a world without some of those creatures you actually like,

Finally, our venom. This is what frightens you, or at least most people. However, our venom is currently the subject of medical research. It has been used for lowering blood pressure, heart failure and could in the future be used to make a strong painkiller, and to help stroke victims as well as a possible cure for cancer. Do you want to forego these possibilities?

Your 'final solution' seems to me to be very nasty. I accept your fear of us. You aren't alone, but before you put this into practice, remember all I've said, and also that there are many of us who are harmless.

Oh, and before I go, You are so much bigger than most of us, and more powerful, and so we will generally run away rather than confront you. Usually we only attack if we feel threatened.

Have a nice day.

A Snake.

Vote for the title of my latest book

I am conducting a survey of the titles suggested by a variety of people for my book. Please vote below. I'll be posting another two in a day or two.

Which of the following books would you buy based solely on the title?

The Elements

Hollow Prince

Sage Quotes

The Somme

I make no apologies for re-posting this poem. I wrote it 2 years ago to commemorate the anniversary of the start of  World War One. As July 1st is the 100th anniversary of the terrible battle of the Somme, I thought I'd post it again.

My Great Uncle Jim, whom I mention in the poem, came back too, but he died shortly afterwards from the results of gassing. The lady known as Auntie Polly, who was his fiancee at the time, never married, but the family always treated her as though they had been.


'Our Poor Willie' was also my great uncle. He was my maternal grandmother's brother. She always referred to him as 'our poor Willie,' but no one ever knew why.

 

 WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

I’ll never truly understand
How World War I began.
The death of Archduke Ferdinand
Started the deaths of many more
The young, the old, the rich, the poor.
All died with guns in hand.

My Grandad went with Uncle Jim
And Our Poor Willie, too.
They sent them off, singing a hymn.
Grandad went to Gallipoli,
Uncle Jim left his love, Polly.
Gas in trenches did kill him.

I cannot see, in my mind’s eye
Grandad with gun in hand.
A peaceful man, sent out to die.
He fought for us, for you and me
So we can live and so that we
Safely in our beds may lie.




Grandad came home, and Willie too,
But millions more did not.
Their duty they all had to do.
They died in fear, in noise, in blood.
Everything was caked in mud.
Yet in those fields the poppies grew.

The War to end all wars, they said,
So terrible were the deaths.
The youth of Europe all lay dead.
Yet 21 short years to come
Another war. Once more a gun
In young men’s hands brought death.

One hundred years have passed since then.
What have we learned? Not much!
Too many men are killing men.
Wars still abound around the world.
Bombs and missiles still are hurled
At those who disagree with them.

V.M.Sang

July 2014



I make no apologies for this poem actually rhyming and having rhythm. I'm afraid I'm not very appreciative of the modern poems that seem to me to be little different from prose.


No, poems don't have to rhyme. I've written blank verse myself, but they, in my rather old-fashioned opinion should have something, perhaps rhythm or something to set them apart from prose. I recently saw a 'poem' that wasn't even written in lines. So it was prose! No rhythm, no rhyme.


I also think that they should be comprehensible. Some modern ones seem just too weird. What's the point in writing something if no one understands it. This writing business is supposed to be about communication isn't it?

Anyway, feel free to comment. If I can receive your comments, which isn't always guaranteed on Blogger, I'll get back to you. I think I can only see comments from my circles in Google+. At least that used to be the case. Perhaps it's changed now. I've complained often enough to Google.


 

An Interview with Davrael, The Wolf Pack

I have managed to get Davrael to agree to do an interview. This
was a difficult task as he is a very private person, but eventually
my power of persuasion triumphed. I was a bit afraid when I
met him. He is an imposing man, and the hawk tattoo on his
face, wings over his eyebrows, head and beak down his nose
and talons on his cheeks was very intimidating. Here is what
he said:

Me: Good afternoon, Davrael. Thank you for agreeing to this
interview. I know you are not very keen on publicity.

Davrael: No. I not speak your language too good. It is
difficult for me.

Me: I will try to make it as easy as I can for you. Please tell
me something of the life of the Horselords.

Davrael: We, as you know, live for horses. Our horses are
best on whole of Vimar. We respect them not just use them.

Me: What do you mean by that?

Davrael: We never put them to do things unnatural. We do
not enslave them with saddles or bits to make it easier for us.
We never beat them, but talk to them and are gentle.

Me: But don't you use them for food?

Davrael: Yes, but we apologise to horse. He allow us to eat him. We thank Grillon for horse too and we grieve for him when he die. If we not eat horse sometimes, we not survive. If we lost in dry places, horse allow us to drink his blood so we do not thirst. Mares allow us to drink milk too even though it is for foals.

Me: How many horses do your tribe own?

Davrael: We not own horses. They are own masters. We follow when they move to different grazing grounds.

Me: But the horses that you ride;  surely you can't say they are their own masters?

Davrael: Yes. They allow us to ride and use them, but they not belong to us. To answer your first question, there are 300 horses that allow my tribe to be with them.

Me: That is a lot of horses.

Davrael: Yes. Swooping Hawk tribe very rich. Look after horses well so horses breed well.

Me: Tell me about your family then.

Davrael: I my father's heir. I second son, but it not auto...automatic...is that the word? for eldest to inherit. My father think that I would be better to see after horses than my brother. I have 2 sisters too. They younger than me. Probably married by now. I not hear since I leave The Plains.

Me: Your father is chief of the Swooping Hawks I understand.

Davrael: Yes. He great chief. We always win fights with other tribes. He good at tactics.

Me: Why do you war with other tribes?

Davrael: Over land--territory, over stealing horses, over stealing women; things like that.

Me: Would you have become chief after your father if you had not left?

Davrael: Perhaps, perhaps not. It depend on other men in tribe. Elders. They vote, but usually it is heir of last chief. Only if they think he not fit will they vote for another. Usually no one challenges. Sometimes, if elders not agree, contestants must fight and winner is chief.

Me: Is it not a hard life, wandering The Plains.

Davrael smiled: Before I came to Grosmer. I not think so. I used to it, and love the horses. Now I get soft with easy living. No need to look for place to camp near water for animals and people, soft beds, not hard mats on floor, stone walls that keep out cold and heat, not hide tents that are cold in winter and hot in summer.

Me: But when you were on your quests with Carthinal and the others. That must have been a bit like your life on The Plains.

Davrael: Yes, but that before we settle to soft life. We only just come over the Barrier--The Western Mountains, you call them.

Me: We?

Davrael: Me and Kimi. We run away because our parents not wish us to marry.

Me: Why was  that?

Davrael: I am son of Chief of Swooping Hawks. Kimi is daughter of a nobody. She also is daughter of settlers. Nomads think settlers no good. Settlers think nomads no good. So we run away.

Me: Is that why you ended up in Grosmer?

Davrael: Yes. We first come to big city, Eribore. I not seen anything as big. Walls all round of stone. We think we not stay there. Too near home, so we go to Hambara. It even bigger city. Kimi find inn and there we meet Carthinal, Basalt, Fero and Asphodel. They kind to us and take us on adventure. Other folk kind too. Duke Rollo give us work after we return. We  think of Grosmer as our land now.

Me: You would not go back to The Plains?

Davrael: No. We have no home there now. Our families have disowned us. Our home and country is Grosmer.

Me: Thank you very much for your time.

Please help me with a title for my latest book

I am searching for a title for my latest book. I have a working title of 'The Elements', but that doesn't even grab me, let alone potential buyers.
I'm posting a very brief synopsis below, and if you can come up with an idea I would be most grateful. I'll then put the ideas I recieve to a vote in order to find a title that grabs readers attention.
Here's the synopsis.

Torren, the Crown Prince of Ponderia has been behaving strangely. His sister and Pettic, his best friend  discover that he has been kidnapped and a doppleganger put in his place.

Pettic, has to go to the four elemental worlds, Terra, Aeris, Aqua and Ignis, in order to find enchanted gems to enter the mini-plane where the prince is imprisoned and to defeat his captor. On each world he has a quest to perform to aid the people of that world before he can find the gem.

Pettic and Lucenra, the princess, then have to find the kidnapper and defeat him.